The minister praised Ambon Mayor Richard Louhenapessy and government officials for achieving the high vaccination rate despite the city being among the most populous in the province and recording a high COVID-19 infection rate.
"I laud the Ambon city mayor and all government officials who have exerted their effort in collaborating with relevant parties to achieve the highest vaccination rate among Maluku province's 11 cities and districts," Karnavian said after presiding over a coordination meeting on vaccinations in Ambon on Friday.
Ambon city is the only region in Maluku that has shot past the 75-percent bar set by President Joko Widodo for vaccinations, he noted.
The minister urged Maluku regional leaders to emulate Ambon government's vaccination success while noting that different regions may experience different challenges than Ambon.
"I hope other mayors and district leaders can emulate the success, at least by improving inter-party collaborations to expedite vaccinations, just like how the Ambon city authority did," Karnavian remarked.
Related news: Minister Hartarto reviews vaccinations at Ambon city
The minister said that he has visited several provinces that have recorded a low vaccination rate of below 70 percent. Those provinces are Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, Southeast Sulawesi, and West Sumatra, he informed.
Despite Ambon city's high vaccination coverage, the low vaccination rate in the elderly population is an issue that the authorities must promptly address, he added.
Karnavian also highlighted the discrepancy between the vaccination rate recorded by the Health Ministry (52.28 percent) and the provincial government (55.08 percent) for Maluku province.
"The discrepancy may occur because of Internet issues in several regions causing difficulties in submitting the data," the minister said.
During the meeting, the minister agreed to recognize Maluku's data as real data. The Health Ministry will adjust its record to match the province's, he said.
Karnavian also urged Maluku authorities to expedite the second dose coverage, which is currently recorded at just 26.43 percent.
Related news: National COVID-19 vaccination rate meets WHO's target: Minister
Translator: Jimmy Ayal, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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